Yesterday I went to the dentist and I am now able to say I know exactly what Mother meant when she whacked me upside the head and told me to quit opening bottles with my teeth. Wish she would have told me what would happen if I continued using them for a pair of pliers, but she didn't. And of course the trip across town rendered the usual idiot that passed me on the left, cut in front of me to get to the right turning lane and then swerved back when he finally figured out which way was left while all the while keeping that damn cell phone firmly attached to his ear! We seem to not have any laws concerning that sort of thing as "Johnny Law" remained unperturbed behind me. I thought about tapping my brakes to wake him up, but I know how my luck runs and I do not need a husband named Sally at this point in my life.
So that is what I intended to write about today, but when I woke up I had Aunt Lena on my mind. Now I do not have a picture of her and Sister Donna is not awake yet, but I can see her as clearly in my mind as if she were standing right here in front of me.
Aunt Lena was born to Johann Jakob Haas and Maria Dorothea Schrade (nee) on May 6, 1893. She was given the name Magdalena Haas. This was in keeping with the name Maria Magdalena, a daughter born to his first wife in Dettingen, Germany who was born in 1874 and passed in 1876 at the tender age of 1 year and 10 months. ( This was common to rename a new baby for one that had not survived.) Aunt Lena was the 12th of 13 living children born to Johann Jakob. Two children had died in infancy. Prolific old fellow if you get my drift. ;)
The Haas family settled in near Plevna, Kansas. Now some how this gets very confusing. The Gagnebin family lived near Abbyville, Kansas. Helen Gagnebin married Frank Miller. They had two daughters, Josie and Helen, and one son, Lewis Miller. At some point in time Helen and Frank Miller wound up living next door (within a mile of each other.) to the Haas Family. At that juncture my grandfather, Christoph Adam Haas (from Great Grandfathers first wife deceased) in Germany married Josie Emma Miller in 1900. She became my grandmother. Seven years later Gottlieb Haas (Who replaced Gottlieb Haas who had only lived 7 months and died the year before Uncle Goll was born.) married her sister, Mabel Helen Miller. All of these children are double cousins. When Uncle Lou Miller cast his eyes on Magdalena Haas, Great Grandmother came un wound and said "No! Too many Haas's have married too many Miller's!" Back in those days children actually listened to thier parents, so Lou and Lena were not married. Uncle Lou later married a lady named Eva. Aunt Lena never married. She remained in Plevna and I think she took in sewing and cleaning and laundry. I am sure she never worked at a job, per se, but she managed to be self sufficient. I know she rented rooms to "old maid school teachers", but we never called her an old maid. No way! She was just Aunt Lena who was not married.
But she was great! I remember going to her house which was a block or so from Grandma Haas. Aunt Lena kept a stock tank there full of water and let us kids get in it in the summer when it was hot. Course we wore our clothes, but that was the fun part; letting them dry on us when it was really hot! My first taste of air conditioning. Her house had two or three bedrooms and was very simple. Every where was crocheted doilies and table cloths; the same as grandma's house. I recall the porch and the Lilac bushes all over her yard. When I smell Lilac's in the yard now, I am transported to Plevna, Kansas and my dear Aunt Lena. I do not think she ever painted her house. Seems like it was always old gray bare wood.
She had an old car, which was probably new at the time and sometimes she would take us for a ride in the country. If we spotted a creek she would whip that old Packard (?) over and we would leap out and climb the fence. Aunt Lena knew how to pull the front of her skirt between her legs and tuck the tail in the waist band. This made us wear pantaloons! We did not dare to get that muddy water on our clothes or we would have been punished.
A funny thing I remember about Aunt Lena was the way she talked. She never opened her mouth. It was like her teeth were stuck together. I'm sure they came apart because she had to eat, but not necessary to talk. Aunt Lena was never sad, nor happy. She would tell stories of the old days. She knew every family member and what they were doing and when they had a new baby and everyone's birthday and where anyone with a drop of Haas blood in thier viens was at any given point in history. I guess she was the family Historian. She was my grandfathers sister and since I never knew grandpa she would tell me things about him. I do not remember the stories, but I remember her saying "Your grandpa." Never called him by name, just my grandpa. I do wish I had known him.
Her and Aunt Mable made me a quilt and hand quilted it when Duane and I had been married for 5 years. They made a quilt called Postage Stamp. It probably had a million tiny squares and it was so pretty and the stitches were so tiny. To this day I do not know where it went, but I do know where it isn't. I think someone stole it when I was in Garden City, Kansas. It was one of those now you see it and now you don't things. I remember putting it away in a very safe place in our apartment on Jenny street. And then it was just no more.
Aunt Lena was tall, or so it seemed. Back when I was 4 feet tall everyone was tall. And I remember Aunt Lena was so wrinkled. I mean her face. Maybe it was a combination of the hot Kansas wind and the farm life and maybe it was just my imagination. Or it could be that when I lived with grandma Haas in 1955, Aunt Lena was 63 years old. But she was the same wrinkled when she died in 1994 at the age of 101. She lived alone in her home until just shortly before her death. As I recall some kind soul had made arrangements for Meals on Wheels to deliver food to her on a daily basis. That did not last long as she couldn't eat tha stuff. One thing the Haas family is famous for is cooking. And cook we do. We use cream, butter, bacon, yeast and when a meal hits the table there are no boxes in the trash. Kind of hard to eat institutional food after doing it yourself for 90+ years. I know for supper every night she had popcorn. Dry, I think. But sometimes she put milk on it. Popcorn is a staple here at my house, but it is just an occasional snack, not a meal!
The last time I seen Aunt Lena was at the family reunion that used to be every September in Plevna, Kansas at the high school gymnasium. That was all that was left was the gym. Aunt Lena was there and she must have been about 98. Earl Boyd was also there. He was a second cousin by marriage or something. I will have to research that. (And I will because there is another story to tell.) Earl was probably 85 or so, but he had macular degeneration and could barely see. Aunt Lena and Earl were visiting and I over heard there conversation.
"Lena, I would love to go see the old home place, but I don't have a car. Do you have a car?"
"Yes, Earl, I have my car and it runs good, but I do not drive that far. (The home place was 4 miles away, but you had to cross highway 50.) Can you drive?"
"Well, yeah, but I can't see. I am blind. But I can drive. Can you see?"
"Yes, I can see really well, but I just can't drive." Then Earl had a brilliant idea.
"I can drive and you can direct me! We will have to go very slow cause if we wind up in the ditch we will be in big trouble! I don't have a license any more and they would give me a ticket."
Then they both fell into silence and sat there a few minutes before Earl said "This old age sure ain't what it is cracked up to be." Then they both chuckled and I could not help but smile.
But it is sad. I told them the next time I made it to town (and at that point I always took Earl with me) I would round them up and go wherever they wanted to go. But of course time and tide wait for no man and that never happened. I never saw Aunt Lena again, but how lucky I am to have my memories.
So that is what I intended to write about today, but when I woke up I had Aunt Lena on my mind. Now I do not have a picture of her and Sister Donna is not awake yet, but I can see her as clearly in my mind as if she were standing right here in front of me.
Aunt Lena was born to Johann Jakob Haas and Maria Dorothea Schrade (nee) on May 6, 1893. She was given the name Magdalena Haas. This was in keeping with the name Maria Magdalena, a daughter born to his first wife in Dettingen, Germany who was born in 1874 and passed in 1876 at the tender age of 1 year and 10 months. ( This was common to rename a new baby for one that had not survived.) Aunt Lena was the 12th of 13 living children born to Johann Jakob. Two children had died in infancy. Prolific old fellow if you get my drift. ;)
The Haas family settled in near Plevna, Kansas. Now some how this gets very confusing. The Gagnebin family lived near Abbyville, Kansas. Helen Gagnebin married Frank Miller. They had two daughters, Josie and Helen, and one son, Lewis Miller. At some point in time Helen and Frank Miller wound up living next door (within a mile of each other.) to the Haas Family. At that juncture my grandfather, Christoph Adam Haas (from Great Grandfathers first wife deceased) in Germany married Josie Emma Miller in 1900. She became my grandmother. Seven years later Gottlieb Haas (Who replaced Gottlieb Haas who had only lived 7 months and died the year before Uncle Goll was born.) married her sister, Mabel Helen Miller. All of these children are double cousins. When Uncle Lou Miller cast his eyes on Magdalena Haas, Great Grandmother came un wound and said "No! Too many Haas's have married too many Miller's!" Back in those days children actually listened to thier parents, so Lou and Lena were not married. Uncle Lou later married a lady named Eva. Aunt Lena never married. She remained in Plevna and I think she took in sewing and cleaning and laundry. I am sure she never worked at a job, per se, but she managed to be self sufficient. I know she rented rooms to "old maid school teachers", but we never called her an old maid. No way! She was just Aunt Lena who was not married.
But she was great! I remember going to her house which was a block or so from Grandma Haas. Aunt Lena kept a stock tank there full of water and let us kids get in it in the summer when it was hot. Course we wore our clothes, but that was the fun part; letting them dry on us when it was really hot! My first taste of air conditioning. Her house had two or three bedrooms and was very simple. Every where was crocheted doilies and table cloths; the same as grandma's house. I recall the porch and the Lilac bushes all over her yard. When I smell Lilac's in the yard now, I am transported to Plevna, Kansas and my dear Aunt Lena. I do not think she ever painted her house. Seems like it was always old gray bare wood.
She had an old car, which was probably new at the time and sometimes she would take us for a ride in the country. If we spotted a creek she would whip that old Packard (?) over and we would leap out and climb the fence. Aunt Lena knew how to pull the front of her skirt between her legs and tuck the tail in the waist band. This made us wear pantaloons! We did not dare to get that muddy water on our clothes or we would have been punished.
A funny thing I remember about Aunt Lena was the way she talked. She never opened her mouth. It was like her teeth were stuck together. I'm sure they came apart because she had to eat, but not necessary to talk. Aunt Lena was never sad, nor happy. She would tell stories of the old days. She knew every family member and what they were doing and when they had a new baby and everyone's birthday and where anyone with a drop of Haas blood in thier viens was at any given point in history. I guess she was the family Historian. She was my grandfathers sister and since I never knew grandpa she would tell me things about him. I do not remember the stories, but I remember her saying "Your grandpa." Never called him by name, just my grandpa. I do wish I had known him.
Her and Aunt Mable made me a quilt and hand quilted it when Duane and I had been married for 5 years. They made a quilt called Postage Stamp. It probably had a million tiny squares and it was so pretty and the stitches were so tiny. To this day I do not know where it went, but I do know where it isn't. I think someone stole it when I was in Garden City, Kansas. It was one of those now you see it and now you don't things. I remember putting it away in a very safe place in our apartment on Jenny street. And then it was just no more.
Aunt Lena was tall, or so it seemed. Back when I was 4 feet tall everyone was tall. And I remember Aunt Lena was so wrinkled. I mean her face. Maybe it was a combination of the hot Kansas wind and the farm life and maybe it was just my imagination. Or it could be that when I lived with grandma Haas in 1955, Aunt Lena was 63 years old. But she was the same wrinkled when she died in 1994 at the age of 101. She lived alone in her home until just shortly before her death. As I recall some kind soul had made arrangements for Meals on Wheels to deliver food to her on a daily basis. That did not last long as she couldn't eat tha stuff. One thing the Haas family is famous for is cooking. And cook we do. We use cream, butter, bacon, yeast and when a meal hits the table there are no boxes in the trash. Kind of hard to eat institutional food after doing it yourself for 90+ years. I know for supper every night she had popcorn. Dry, I think. But sometimes she put milk on it. Popcorn is a staple here at my house, but it is just an occasional snack, not a meal!
The last time I seen Aunt Lena was at the family reunion that used to be every September in Plevna, Kansas at the high school gymnasium. That was all that was left was the gym. Aunt Lena was there and she must have been about 98. Earl Boyd was also there. He was a second cousin by marriage or something. I will have to research that. (And I will because there is another story to tell.) Earl was probably 85 or so, but he had macular degeneration and could barely see. Aunt Lena and Earl were visiting and I over heard there conversation.
"Lena, I would love to go see the old home place, but I don't have a car. Do you have a car?"
"Yes, Earl, I have my car and it runs good, but I do not drive that far. (The home place was 4 miles away, but you had to cross highway 50.) Can you drive?"
"Well, yeah, but I can't see. I am blind. But I can drive. Can you see?"
"Yes, I can see really well, but I just can't drive." Then Earl had a brilliant idea.
"I can drive and you can direct me! We will have to go very slow cause if we wind up in the ditch we will be in big trouble! I don't have a license any more and they would give me a ticket."
Then they both fell into silence and sat there a few minutes before Earl said "This old age sure ain't what it is cracked up to be." Then they both chuckled and I could not help but smile.
But it is sad. I told them the next time I made it to town (and at that point I always took Earl with me) I would round them up and go wherever they wanted to go. But of course time and tide wait for no man and that never happened. I never saw Aunt Lena again, but how lucky I am to have my memories.
